Divine Intervention
by RadicalSatire
Summary: It started with a crossroads deal. A baby left behind. It only took a day for Gabriel to realize that the universe had given him a new role to play. He wasn't just an Archangel or a Trickster. No, he was a Guardian now. Her Guardian. GabrielxOFC
1. Prologue

_**Divine Intervention**_

Rating: T for now.

Genre: Romance, Angst, Supernatural

Characters: Gabriel, Original Female Character and other OC's

Disclaimer: The only thing that belongs to me is little Vivian, Gabriel and Supernatural belong to a greater power. I don't claim them as my own :)

**Authors Note**: There wasn't enough Gabriel fanfiction out there for me. Especially not enough Gabriel / OFC fanfiction ( My personal preference ) . I decided to write my own. I've never written Gabriel before but I'm very, very well versed in the Supernatural!verse. I wanted our beloved Trickster / Archangel to get a girl of his own, and hopefully during the course of this story he will get one! ;D If you guys could help me out by leaving a review it would be greatly appreciated, I'd definitely like some feedback on this one. If you all like it I'll keep the story going and I'll post the second half of this chapter!

( I'm not perfect and this hasn't been through a beta, any mistakes are my own. )

* * *

"Did you really think that this would get you out of it? A deal's a deal. You're not the first person to try." The harsh words cut through the still night like a razor. He had been observing for no less than five minutes but already he was weary. He'd been scoping out the new town when he'd sensed the disturbance. Something likes angelic sonar. A demon was present and with it, hell-hounds. His almost childlike curiosity had gotten the best of him. The path led him to a crossroads and an incredibly chilling scene.

A young woman, she couldn't have been more than twenty-five was lying on her side, curled in a fetal position. Blood was pooling around her and it was obvious that she'd been gravely injured. He bet it was the hounds. There was a demon standing over her. No one he recognized, but crossroads demons were low rank, there was a new one popping up every few minutes – waiting to buy out some poor sucker's soul. They were a dime a dozen The demon was male, not very tall; 5'7 at the most. The only thing that stood out about him was a pale yellow bundle that he currently held in his arms. From where Gabriel was standing he could see the look of disgust almost perfectly. He knew exactly what was in the blanket. It didn't take a genius to figure that out. It was a baby. Had to be, given the one-sided conversation that was currently going on. On occasion desperate women had been known to attempt to back out of the deal by getting pregnant. Under the illusion that demons actually cared about things like that. People like that made him want to weep for the rest of humanity.

"We don't take 'em. Can't, part of the rules. I've gotta wait for some holier-than-thou prick to come and deal with this…" The demon glanced down at the baby who was surprisingly quiet – he wondered if it was still alive "_Thing_." The black-eyed man finished with a tone of disgust. The woman on the ground was now straddling the thin line between life and death and the demon looked incredibly impatient. He was waiting for an angel. They weren't permitted to take children to hell. Children were pure, innocent. There was no place down there for them. In these situations an angel was tasked with retrieval and the re-homing process. It had been that way for as long as he could remember. One of his fathers rules.

Before he'd skipped out on heaven he'd had to do it himself once or twice, usually because his brothers decided that they were too busy for a simple task. He'd been referred to as the bleeding heart one a few occasions. What surprised him was the fact that no angel was present. Due to the now strict enforcement on this particular rule, they were usually there before the parent in question died. He was the only angel in the area. He didn't want to merely jump out, granted the demon wouldn't know who the hell he was. No, this wasn't his job anymore. It was for someone else.

He could hear the faint muffled cry and then silence. The woman was dead. He didn't need to get up-close and person to know that. Almost as soon as the last breath escaped the woman, the bundle in the demons arms began to scream. The inhuman shriek that only a human child could manage. The demon glanced around, as if scouting the area. He hadn't noticed Gabriel's presence, as it should be. The demon carefully placed the bundle on the ground beside the dead body. The second the yellow fleece was touching the gravel, the demon vanished. Leaving the baby beside the now lifeless corpse. No doubt in a hurry to ferry that soul to the rack. The screaming grew louder and louder. Gabriel grimaced. Where were his brothers and sisters? They couldn't just leave a baby there. The crossroads was at least half an hour away from the closet town, over an hour away from the nearest city. The area was famous for scavengers and 'swamp people'. The demon might as well have just taken the kid right to hell with its mother!

He'd been among humans long enough to find the noise unsettling. It could mean any variety of things, all of them bad. He considered leaving, silently reminding himself that this was no longer what he did. He didn't answer to any of the asses in heaven. No, he was out of that game. Still, a human child. An innocent. He couldn't seem to just walk away.

Gabriel stood up, brushing the dirt off of his already worn jeans. He was better than the rest. He saw the value in human life. They weren't toys, they were things. They deserved as much of a chance, some of them anyways. It took seconds to jog up to the center of the road from the brush that had expertly hidden himself in. His brows furrowed at the sight of the mother. There was nothing he could do for her. The demon had already collected. He could however, help the child. He crouched down, slowly picking up the squirming small mound of blankets. His fingers made contact with a sickly warm patch and when he glanced to the side he saw the red. The demon had set the child down in a pool of its mother's blood.

Bastards.

"Sh, come on kid. You're fine." He murmured as he pulled back the piece of blanket that blocked most of the infants face. A pair of piercing blue eyes stared up at him, for a second the baby was quiet. It almost looked confused. It wasn't very old, less than a year. Ice blue eyes and a small head covered with black hair. It looked like a doll. The baby didn't seem hurt, just scared too move. He pulled back the blanket a bit more, tearing his own caramel eyes way. The baby began to cry again. He caught a quick glimpse at the light purple jumper and a word embodied in white on the right sleeve.

He fixed the blanket as it had been before, bringing the bundle closer to his chest. "Vivian, huh? Sorry you had to be here" Gabriel glanced back down at the woman before turning away. There was no way he was leaving the kid there. "Don't worry, I'll look after you." The archangel promised. The screaming toned down to a sniffle. He wondered if somehow, little Vivian understood what he had said. Gabriel didn't dwell much on it. All that mattered was that she had settled down. Now he had to do something with her. Anything. Already wondering how exactly he could make good on his promise.

The archangel took one last look around, cringing at the sight of the body. There was nothing he could do for her. Her soul was probably on a rack downstairs already. With a low sigh he and child disappeared into the night.

* * *

When daylight broke mere hours later, he made good on his promise. He'd taken the child to an adoption agency in the city. They were incredibly discreet; though he wasn't sure they believed him when he said the child wasn't his. The social worker swore that they would find a good home for the small girl and when it came time for him to hand the baby over he paused for a moment. Gabriel had only found the child no less than five hours earlier but since he'd picked her up off of the road, he hadn't put her down – not once. Little Vivian had spent most of her time asleep; the screaming likely had tuckered her out. Not that he minded – his ears hadn't quite recovered from the previous assault. When the kind lady asked for him to hand over the baby, he'd hesitated. Part of him worried about waking the child again, it was too early for the blood curdling cries. Another part didn't exactly trust the woman when she'd assured him that they would find the baby a loving home. An angel would have done that themselves, had one actually shown up. While he'd seen the good in humanity, he'd also seen the bad. Children put up for adoption had half a shot at a good life if he left her there. Half wasn't good enough.

The baby was cute, in a obnoxious human sort of way. For a split second he considered walking right back out and taking the baby back to his newest home. An archangel, covering as a Trickster, raising a human child? There was no way in heaven (or hell) that he could do it. So reluctantly, he passed the sleeping baby on. Vivian didn't stir when she was placed in the social workers arms, amazingly she stayed asleep. The woman said goodbye in a sickeningly sweet tone, one which he interpreted as his cue to leave. For the first time in a long time, he felt a stirring. Sadness and distrust – though the faintest amounts. By the time he jogged down three flights of stairs and made it to the large glass doors he resolved to keep an eye on Vivian. Cliché as it was, he'd be something of a guardian angel. At least until he knew that she was in a good home.

During the next few months he observed from what he considered to be a safe distance. To his credit, Gabriel only interfered once. He'd more or less…picked Vivian's home for her. Three couples sprang up immediately and he only believed that one was suitable. Once couple clearly had more money than brains, how the social workers had deemed them suitable candidates was beyond him. The second couple was worse. The husband had made a deal with a crossroads demon. He couldn't get the details and honestly, he didn't care. The kid wasn't going to that house either. It was the third couple who he had approved of. So much so that he'd taken the liberty to sneak into the office and finalize the paper work himself. A stamp here and a signature there. No big deal. They were a nice small town couple. Early thirties, married for almost a decade. They had attempted to conceive children on their own but for whatever reason, it didn't work. They were sane with a steady income. He was hovering in the office the day they came to pick up Vivian, in the guise of a delivery boy. Everyone seemed genuinely happy, including Vivian herself. She was happy baby. Everyone who saw her said it. They couple agreed to keep her first name as it was. They both liked Vivian, said that it sounded elegant.

Gabriel managed to get one fleeting glimpse of the blue eyed child as they walked by. He felt proud, happy even. She was going to a good home. She'd have a family and hopefully no demonic interference. A normal, happy life. He told himself that everything would be fine, and for a little while it was.


	2. Monsters and Angels

_**Author's Note:** I apologize this took me so long to write! It's summer now though, so you can expect more frequent updates. If you can take a moment to leave me a review or PM, tell me what you think about the chapter or the story so far ( though there's not much, there will be ) I hope you guys enjoy it! Thanks for reading!_

* * *

Three years went by and he'd only taken a small handful of glimpses into the life of young Vivian Graham . She was happy, healthy and loud. Her parents joked about how talkative she was, saying that Vivian could out talk an auctioneer with ease. Everything seemed fine, or so he'd thought.

Shortly after her third birthday he'd 'stopped in' after Vivian had been sent to bed. He could easily get in and out without anyone seeing him. It wasn't long after nine o'clock, Vivian's bedtime was at eight but apparently bedtime was a struggle. The three year old was certain that she had monsters in her room. To go along with the childhood paranoia, she also had night terrors. This made bedtime hell for the Graham's. He'd come in on just such a night. He'd appeared upstairs in the darkened hallway. Vivian's parents were downstairs, he could hear them murmuring about the girls 'latest' episode. That wasn't the only thing he heard.

Gabriel's eyes shifted towards the right side of the hallway, stopping on the streamer adorned door. Vivian's room. The streamers were remnants from her birthday; she'd like them so she'd been adamant about their fate. Inside he could hear a hushed voice, though he couldn't actually make out the words. In a split second he was standing on the other side of the door, in the far corner of the room. There were three sources of light. One was the full moon which shone brightly outside of the girl's window, casting eerie shadows through the curtains. The other was a pale star-shaped nightlight that had clearly seen better days and the finally was a glowing mass of sheets on top of the bed, he imagined she'd been given a small flashlight at some point, which was seeing a lot of use.

"It's gonna suck my blood!" The small voice whined. The flashlight stilled in an upright position, he could see her silhouette underneath the blankets. "It's gonna kick my ass." She sounded more angry than anything. Like there was someone else under the covers who she was arguing with. He couldn't help but smile. "_Ass "_probably wasn't a word that her parents had knowingly taught her. There was a moment of silence before Vivian spoke up again "We gotta do it together." The girl murmured. The flashlight moved around erratically as she began to shove the blankets off. Gabriel considered leaving for a split second, but no sooner did the thought enter his mind did Vivian appear from underneath the blankets. Her eyes and flashlight were trained on the window, nowhere near his dark corner. Her wavy shoulder length black hair was a tangled mess thanks to the blankets. Held tight against her chest was a fairly large stuffed animal, a black cat with a purple collar. So focused on the window with large blue eyes and for a moment he thought he was safe.

Vivian quickly swung the flashlight around, letting out a small gasp.

_Crap._

Her eyes looked like saucers as they followed the flashlight beam, which landed directly onto him. Her jaw quivered slightly and he expected to hear a scream, instead he didn't hear anything. The last thing that Gabriel want to do was startle her but would vanishing before her eyes really make them any better off? He hadn't planned on being seen by anyone. Especially not the overly imaginative child. The gaze that she was casting was unsettling, it was the icy color of her eyes. They were just as vibrant as when she was a baby.

"A-Are you…a monster? " Vivian broke the silence, lips twisting into a grimace. " 'Cos you don't have monster eyes."

Gabriel let out a low breath, one that he didn't know he'd been holding to start. He smiled and shook his head. Didn't have monster eyes? "No, I'm not a monster."

Vivian squinted, looking slightly skeptical. "Do you drink blood? Monsters drink blood." She wasn't screaming bloody murder yet which on it's own as good but he had a feeling that she would do just that if he were to disappear or simply say the wrong thing.

Again, he shook his head. Without thinking his slid his right hand into the pocket of his worn brown jacket, pulling out a half empty bag of sour gummy worms and an unopened chocolate bar. He held the package up in one hand and the chocolate bar in the other, extending his arms so that she could see. Vivan's brows furrowed as she crawled to the foot of the bed. He smirked. "Don't worry kid, I live off of this stuff."

"Is that candy? 'Cos if it is monsters don't like candy. Makes 'em sick." Vivian muttered knowingly. The girl slowly placed down the toy cat, shoving the blankets out of her way and sliding off the edge of the bed. " 'Sides you would have eated me already." Her initial fear seemed to have drained away. Gabriel could only assume that she didn't consider him a monster, not after he had shown her the candy. What he hadn't expected was for her to actually get off of the bed and shuffle across the room in her blue flannel pajamas. She stopped about a foot away from him, flashlight beam landing on his chest. No, she definitely wasn't scared. Curious was the better word.

Gabriel shoved the candy back into his pockets. He slowly crouched down, bringing himself down to her level. The second they were eye to eye she moved the flashlight, beam cutting his filed of vision. He held a hand up, squinting at the light which was currently set on his face. "Wass' your name? " The blue eyed girl asked quietly.

Now he didn't see the harm in answering that. What was the worst that could happen? "My name is Gabriel." The angel chuckled.

"Gabe-rie-elle-" Vivian repeated to herself. "That's a girl's name."

Gabriel cocked and eyebrow, smirk faltering slightly. "No it's not.

"Yuh huh." Vivian hissed back. The curious look turned to a stern gaze, one that told him not to argue. She was three, what did she know about names anyway. So he tried to spin the conversation in a different direction before things became too heated.

"What's your name? " It was his turn to ask. Though in all honesty, he didn't expect a response. Though the archangel didn't actually need one. He'd known her name from the night he'd found her at the crossroads.

"My Nana calls me Viv, Vivi and Vi but my name is really Vivian. I like Vi best." Vivian moved the flashlight, pointing it down towards the hardwood flooring.

"Well," Gabriel let out a soft whistle. "That's a very nice name. Can I call yo-" He was cut off mid word as Vivian moved forward, her face literally inches away from his own. "What are you doing?" Vivian didn't reply. He stayed as still as she did. Her gaze was piercing. He couldn't remember ever seeing a shade of blue like hers, not in a human at least. She was going to be a heart breaker when she grew up.

There was a moment of silence between the two. The child was still sizing him up, but giving the fact that she was so close she probably didn't see him as a 'monster' anymore. Vivian almost looked as if she were in some sort of trance. Her icy blue eyes were locked with his. It was actually mildly unsettling but he didn't say anything. He didn't move. Gabriel didn't want to scare her away. Finally, the quiet broke. Slashed with a heavy sigh. "Your eyes look like candy. I want ones like that."

It wasn't often that he received compliments over his eyes. Amazing power, sure but not his eye color. Between the two of them Vivian's eyes were the stunning ones. Rather than continue the conversation, he picked a different topic. "Isn't it past your bedtime?" He tried to word it as delicately as possible, as to not upset the child. She still glared at him.

"Monster are gonna eat me. "

_Right. _

Monsters. He'd heard snippets of that dialogue. Every night was a battle, Vivian rarely got much sleep. The poor kid. Sure, monsters existed but he knew that there weren't any in her room – unless he was to include himself in the count. He was quiet for a long moment. He had an idea, though he wasn't sure if Vivian was going to take the bait. She was a child, but there was a stubbornness to her already that rivaled that of many adults. "I'll make you a deal," He spoke slowly, making sure that he had the girl's attention. "If you go to bed now I'll stay here and keep the monsters away." He slowly stopped up and crossed his arms over his chest. Vivian was frowning again, forehead creased.

"You aint scared of 'em? They're really _scary_." She sounded completely convinced of this and Gabriel wasn't about to argue. To her, a defenseless child with an over active imagination – the things she dreamt up were probably terrifying. He'd seen it all during his time in heaven and on earth. He was willing to bet his rusty archangel blade that they were nothing more than figments of her imagination. Besides, what creature actually stood a chance against an Archangel? She was waiting for an answer, staring up at him with the most expectant look on her little face.

He smirked "As long as I'm here, monsters won't even think about coming in." He expected her to be convinced, but her arms were crossed over her chest. Gabriel sighed. Children were supposed to be gullible, easily led. Yet this child wasn't having any of it. She was staring at him with a look that only adults could master. A look that practically screamed "you're not bullshitting me". What did he have to do to get the message across?

"Y'know what kills monsters?" She didn't even wait for him to answer. "Swords. They kill monsters really good. Daddy said." Vivian said quietly.

A sword? Well, he could do that. "I have a something that should do the trick then." Gabriel slowly moved his arm so that his hand was behind his back. He shut his eyes, only for a second. Once he felt the cool reassuring touch of silver he slowly brought his arm forward. While it wasn't a traditional sword, it was still considered a blade. The blade of angels. They all had one. It came free with membership. Vivian took a step back when the blade came into sight, eyes wide in shock. He held it up, just out of her her reach. She seemed like the grabby type and he couldn't have that happening.

The child didn't say anything, she seemed shocked by the sudden appearance of the blade. After another long moment she gave him a weary smile as well as her permission. "I guess that's okay." Seemingly pleased with the arrangement she finally scampered back to her bed. She made quite the show out of climbing back up and arranging the blankets just so. She wasn't done yet. She picked up the abandoned stuffed animal and placed it at the foot of her bed. Taking the time to arrange its front two paws against the wooden foot board. "She's gonna watch an' make sure you do what you said." It took Gabriel every ounce of composure that he possessed to not laugh. He liked this kid. She was being serious but he found it completely adorable.

Gabriel dropped into a crouch and pressed his back up against the wall. The blade stayed in his hand until Vivian finally decided to lie down. In less than ten minutes the little girl was fast asleep. That left him and the stuffed cat. He thought about leaving. She was asleep and maybe she would stay that way. Was it worth it though? He had made a promise. Monsters or not he had said that he would watch over her. It wasn't like he had anywhere else to be. His blade disappeared into his coat and he lowered himself into a more comfortable sitting position. The human occupants of the house needed sleep. If Viv would stay down because she'd been assured that he would take care of the monsters that meant a quiet night for her parents. Good, hardworking people who needed the decent nights rest just as bad.

It would just be one night. That was what he told himself. Just this once.

But it wasn't going to be just that once. In the back of his mind he knew. He'd tried to stay out of her life, he'd told himself that his job was done. He had found her a good home and parents who would give their lives for their little girl. She was something special though. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something about little Vivian. He'd known it the second he'd saved her at the crossroads all those years ago.


	3. Belated Birthday Present

He'd stayed through the night, keeping his word. It was incredibly boring but alas; Gabriel had nowhere else to go. Nothing else to do. Amazingly Vivian didn't stir even once under his watchful eye. Unlike the usual night where she was up four or five times, climbing into her parents bed seeking refuge. He waited till the sun was shining through the curtains before he vanished. The girl was an early riser but he'd left just a half hour before. The instant her eyes were open she was looking into the corner. He had been watching. Purely out of curiosity. She looked incredibly confused, not to mention unhappy when she found that she was alone.

He had done his good deed. Or so he'd thought. He had hoped that one visit would be enough to help her. He hadn't expected anything more to come from it. Her certainly hadn't expected the girls dreams to worsen. The next night every hour or so she would hide out in her parents room. This effectively caused everyone a fairly unhealthy dose of sleep deprivation. A week later and there was still no improvement. He felt for them, he truly did. They were good parents but they had no idea how to help their daughter. He was no expert himself but he was sure that the reason why the child refused to sleep was that because she needed a guardian, a protector of sorts. The night that he had watched over her she had slept soundly after he had assured her that he would keep the monsters at bay. She needed a constant presence, there in her room.

It was coming onto the second week when Gabriel thought it best to be of use. The lack of sleep was effecting everyone for the worse. He didn't like the idea of standing watch every night but he had to do something.

He'd overheard her parents try to find a solution to the problem at hand. Things seemed to get a bit drastic when they were considering moving a cot into her room. While that might have solved something, it would definitely inconvenience her parents. If they were unhappy, there was a chance that Viv would either pick up on it or be subjected to it. Though, Gabriel was certain that they would never harm their daughter in any way ( of course, if he had thought there was a chance he never would have chosen them ) They were supposed to be a happy family. The sleep deprived weren't generally happy.

It took him a few days, his dealings with children were limited enough. Never mind actually being helpful. But he did manage to come up with something. At least he hoped that it would be an answer to their prayers.

Vivian and her mother were in the garden. It was almost fair season and the vegetables needed to be tended to. Vivian was set off to the side with a spill-proof cup, an old blanket and some toys while her mother worked. Gabriel had been watching for most of the morning. Waiting for the right time. He was going to introduce the girl to a new friend, a guardian of sorts. Around noon the phone rang, likely a call from her father. Her mother had gone inside, leaving Vivian to herself in the garden. There was a large kitchen window which overlooked the space, so Vivian wouldn't be out of sight. Since they lived out of the city, almost in a little world of their own, they weren't too worried about someone scooping their beloved up.

Once she ducked in, Gabriel decided that would be a good time to visit his the interesting little human. He had been standing underneath a willow tree watching, invisible to both. But now she would be able to see him when he neared. Viv at least, not her mother. The girl was busy fixing the hair of a well loved doll which her grandmother had sent across three states just for her. Lucky kid, spoiled rotten in his opinion. Being the only child in such a large family certainly had its advantages. At only three years she was no strange to stacks of gifts on her birthday or holidays, and the odd surprise throughout the year. That was exactly why he was there. He had a gift.

He crossed the yard, glancing down at the wriggling bundle in his arms. An eleven week old German shepherd puppy. He'd acquired it legally from a local shelter. The litter had been abandoned in an old box by the side of the road. Oddly mirroring her future owners own beginnings. The puppy had a clean bill of health. She was gentle, a bit quieter than her siblings. She already seemed to know a few basic commands. He knew that she would be perfect for Viv, as long as her parents would allow her to keep it. As he neared the garden he placed the puppy onto the grass.

"What-cha doin', kiddo? " Gabriel asked, smile playing at his lips as Vivian looked up. She looked surprised at first, shocked by his sudden appearance. Shocked, but not afraid.

"Are there monsters?" She quickly grabbed her doll, holding it tight to her chest. Remembering the first and last time that they had met.

"No!" He was quick to reassure. "No monsters. It's light out, isn't it? They don't like light." He watched the fear slip away as he spoke. She seemed to draw the conclusion that he was in fact right, monsters didn't like coming out during the day. "I have a present for you, actually. I missed your birthday."

She watched him, blue eyes brimming with curiosity as he came over from behind the short shrubbery wall. The puppy trailed beside him. The second Vivian saw it her eyes widened and her hands flew up to her mouth. At first he was worried that he'd scared her, but when he knelt down he realized that she wasn't crying, but she was giggling. Hysterically. The puppy stood beside him, head cocked slightly as she watched the tiny human.

He glanced up, her mother had her back to the window. That give him a few more minutes at least. Still, the woman wouldn't see him, but the puppy. "She needs a good home." He said as he reached over, ruffling the dogs floppy ears. "She's going to get big, and I know she'll be very good at keeping the monsters away." He gave the dog a gentle nudge, urging her to go forward. She did so without hesitation, pressing her head into Vivian's outstretched hand. The young girls fingers ran over the fluffy tan and black fur.

"Her ears aren't up." Vivian said quietly, leaning forward as if to get a better look.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. He'd just brought her a puppy and she was on about its ears? "Do you like her?" Just as he asked, Vivian wrapped her arms around the puppy and drew it in for a hug, letting out another fit of giggles.

"She's gonna keep monsters away?" Vivian tore her eyes off of the dog just long enough to look up at him. Suddenly all business. There was a seriousness in her voice that made her seem beyond her years. He couldn't help but wonder whether or not that would stick around as she grew older.

Gabriel nodded, crouching down beside the girl and the puppy. "She might even be better at it than I am." It almost hurt him to say that, but it was for the good of the child. He couldn't stand guard every night. Well, he could, but that wouldn't be consistent with his plans to slowly phase her out of his life.

Gabriel's attention swiftly shifted as he noticed the figure in the window turn. The woman couldn't see him, but when her eyes set on her daughter she went rigid. Right…the dog. Her mother was outside in the blink of an eye, frantically pulling the dopey puppy out of Vivian's arms. The young girl cried in protest, but the puppy on rolled over onto her stomach, tail wagging.

"Where did this come from? Why were you playing with it?" Her mother clearly sounded startled, but Vivian was phased by this. All she did was put her arms out, waving her hands about and trying to get her mother to return the puppy to her.

"Viv, where did the dog come from?" The woman asked again, more sternly this time. Her daughter slowly turned her head, eyes fixing on him. Gabriel tensed when her mother's eyes followed her gaze. Fortunately for him, only one of them could see him.

Vivian pouted as she looked at him, as if asking for help. There was a moment of silence before she surrendered. "My friend got her for my birthday." It was the truth, but it only startled the woman more. She began scanning the garden again, looking for another person.

"Come on now. We should get inside." There was a hint of uncertainty in her voice, an obvious paranoia. Vivian didn't need to be told twice. She gathered up her toys and held them protectively against her chest. Her mother cradled the puppy in one arm, and used her free one to take Vivian's hand. She silently led the girl away, giving her a gentle tug every few steps because the young girl paused to look back at him.

"Can I play with the puppy later?" Vivian asked. It was the last thing he'd heard before they disappeared back into the house. He thought about following them, just to keep a watchful eye. But he'd intervened enough for one day. Once her husband returned home, they'd talk about the "magical" and "random" appearance of the dog. They wouldn't get rid of her though. If he were a betting man, and it just so happened that he was, he would bet they'd embrace the new arrival. It was too cute and too helpless, and would remind them of one of their old dogs. Yes, he'd picked that one out for a reason. He'd done his research.

Hopefully the puppy would do the trick. Vivian seemed to like her. He hoped they'd form a bond, or something along the lines. They could grow up and face the world together. Dogs were fiercely loyal companions, better than some people. Which was exactly why he'd gotten her a puppy instead of a nanny. A smirked graced his features. Gabriel felt pleased with himself, he'd done a good thing there today.

Of course in a few days he'd check back in, make sure the monsters were at bay and her parents were no longer suffering from sleep depirvation. He had a feeling that everything would be just fine.


End file.
